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Background: Educators' negative weight biases toward students with high body weight have been well-documented. The present investigation examined whether inclusion of body weight in school anti-bullying policies is associated with lower levels of weight bias among educators. Methods: Data on explicit weight bias was collected from a sample of secondary school teachers and principals in the United States (N = 246) and examined in relation to the presence of weight-related language in each participant's school district anti-bullying policy. Results: The results indicate that, although educators on average make negative judgments about individuals with high weight, these biases were lower for educators whose school district anti-bullying policy included enumeration of body weight. Notably, this association did not hold when policies enumerated "appearance." Conclusions: The study findings suggest that the explicit mention of "weight" in school anti-bullying policies may represent a feasible mechanism to reduce explicit weight bias among U.S. secondary school educators.

Despite recognition of the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on secondary schooling experiences, little empirical evidence has captured adolescents' perspectives on the extent of academic and social disruption resulting from the pandemic. The present study examined adolescents' academic worries amid the COVID-19 pandemic and their perspectives on pandemic-related changes in teacher and peer relations. Participants were 452 adolescents (55% female) between the ages of 11 and 17, who completed online surveys asking them about their worries about their schoolwork and educational futures, perceived support from teachers, and perceptions of electronic (cyber) bullying during the pandemic. Results indicated that COVID-related academic worries pertaining to motivation to focus on and complete schoolwork were most frequent. High school students and female students reported heightened academic worries compared to middle school students and male students. In addition, the majority of adolescents indicated decreased support from teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including more than two-thirds (69%) who reported reduced communication with teachers. Adolescents perceived relative consistency in electronic (cyber) bullying throughout the pandemic, and a third of students indicated that cyberbullying has become more of a problem and increased in frequency during this time period. Perceived changes in cyberbullying were consistent across grade level and gender. Findings emphasize the psychosocial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents' secondary schooling experiences and underscore the importance of bolstering social resources to minimize the short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on students' academic functioning.

Weight-based victimization (WBV) is a common and consequential experience for adolescents with overweight and obesity. The current study examined the relative contributions of different school-based sources of WBV (i.e., peers, friends, teachers, coaches) on academic grades, as well as the role of teachers in mitigating the academic consequences of WBV among a sample of 148 adolescents with high body weight (M[subscript age]= 15.97, SD[subscript age] = 1.25; 50% female). Regression analyses revealed that the link between school-based WBV and lower grades among adolescents was due primarily to mistreatment from peers. However, this association was weakened when students perceived their teachers to be more helpful in preventing future WBV, but not as a function of how frequently students reported incidents of WBV to their teachers. These findings underscore the importance of teacher intervention in supporting the academic success of adolescents experiencing WBV from their peers in the school setting.

ABSTRACT Background Methods Results Discussion Weight bias toward individuals with higher body weights in healthcare settings is associated with adverse health behaviors, reduced healthcare utilization, and poor health outcomes. The purpose of this integrative review was to explore: (1) What has been measured and described regarding perinatal care providers' and students' weight bias toward pregnant, birthing, and postpartum individuals with higher body weights? (2) What has been measured and described regarding pregnant, birthing, and postpartum individuals' experiences of weight bias? (3) What is the association of experiences of weight bias with perinatal and mental health outcomes among pregnant, birthing, and postpartum individuals?We conducted a systematic search in CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases to identify relevant research publications related to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms weight prejudice (and related terms) and pregnancy (and related terms). The review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA), Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence‐Based Practice model for study quality determination, and the Whittemore and Knafl integrative review framework for data extraction and analyses.Twenty‐two publications met inclusion criteria, representing six countries and varying study designs. This review found pervasive sources of explicit weight bias in the perinatal period, including care providers and close relationships. Experiences of weight bias among pregnant and postpartum individuals are associated with adverse perinatal and mental health outcomes.The findings address a knowledge gap regarding a summary of literature on weight bias in the perinatal period and elucidate its prevalence as well as its negative influence on perinatal and mental health outcomes. Future research efforts on this topic must examine the nature and extent of perinatal care providers' weight bias by demographic factors and explore its association with clinical decision‐making and perinatal and mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unknown if parent-targeted health messages about childhood obesity affect parental weight communication with children (e.g., encouraging a child to diet). This randomized, controlled, online experiment assessed the effects of exposure to different message frames on parental intentions to 1) engage in weight communication with their child and, 2) follow the health advice in the message. A diverse sample of U.S. parents (N = 452) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) a mock news article emphasizing childhood obesity (weight-framed message) with health behavior advice for parents; 2) an article with identical health behavior advice for parents, but framed within the context of improving children’s school performance (school-framed message); and 3) a no-treatment control group. Following message exposure, parents completed online surveys assessing their intention to engage in weight communication and the recommended health behaviors. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the relationship between experimental condition and the outcome variables. Parents in the weight-frame condition were significantly more likely to report intention to engage in weight communication with their child than parents in the control group, while there was no difference between the school-frame condition and the control group. Parents in both message conditions were equally likely to report intention to adopt the health advice, but parental weight-based self-stigma moderated the relationships. Parent-targeted health advice that features childhood obesity may encourage parents to engage in weight communication with their children. Our findings can inform the development of health messages targeting parents about children’s weight-related health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Weight bias toward individuals with higher body weights permeates health care settings in the United States and has been associated with poor weight‐related communication and quality of care as well as adverse health outcomes. However, there has been limited quantitative investigation into weight bias among perinatal care providers. Certified nurse‐midwives (CNMs)/certified midwives (CMs) attend approximately 11% of all births in the United States. The aims of this study were to measure the direction and extent of weight bias among CNMs/CMs and compare their levels of weight bias to the US public and other health professionals. Methods: Through direct postcard distribution, social media accounts, professional networks, and email listservs, American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB)‐certified midwives were solicited to complete an online survey of their implicit weight bias using the Implicit Association Test and their explicit weight bias using the Antifat Attitudes Questionnaire, Fat Phobia Scale, and Preference for Thin People measure. Results: A total of 2257 midwives participated in the survey, yielding a completion rate of 17.7%. Participants were mostly White and female, with a median age of 46 years and 11 years since AMCB certification. More than 70% of midwives have some level of implicit weight bias, although to a lesser extent compared with previously published findings among the US public (P <.01) and other health professionals (P <.01). In a subsample comparison of female midwives to female physicians, implicit weight bias levels were similar (P >.05). Midwives also express explicit weight bias, but at lower levels than the US public and other health professionals (P <.05). Discussion: This study provides the first quantitative research documenting weight bias among a national US sample of perinatal care providers. Findings can inform educational efforts to mitigate weight bias in the perinatal care setting and decrease harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with obesity commonly face a pervasive, resilient form of social stigma. They are often subject to discrimination in the workplace as well as in educational and healthcare settings. Research indicates that weight stigma can cause physical and psychological harm, and that affected individuals are less likely to receive adequate care. For these reasons, weight stigma damages health, undermines human and social rights, and is unacceptable in modern societies. To inform healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public about this issue, a multidisciplinary group of international experts, including representatives of scientific organizations, reviewed available evidence on the causes and harms of weight stigma and, using a modified Delphi process, developed a joint consensus statement with recommendations to eliminate weight bias. Academic institutions, professional organizations, media, public-health authorities, and governments should encourage education about weight stigma to facilitate a new public narrative about obesity, coherent with modern scientific knowledge., Author(s): Francesco Rubino [sup.1] [sup.2] , Rebecca M. Puhl [sup.3] , David E. Cummings [sup.4] [sup.5] , Robert H. Eckel [sup.6] [sup.7] , Donna H. Ryan [sup.8] , Jeffrey I. [...]

Parental communication about body weight with their children is common across diverse families. The current study investigates how parents' feelings about their own bodies, beliefs about body weight, history of weight stigma, and weight-related characteristics contribute to the degree to which they talk about weight – both negatively and positively – with their adolescent children. The study sample was comprised of U.S. parents (N = 1936) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds with children aged 10–17 years old. Parents completed an online survey with measures assessing their frequency of engaging in negative and positive weight communication with their children, along with several relevant psychosocial factors (i.e. body satisfaction, experienced weight stigma, associative stigma, body appreciation, beliefs about weight controllability, weight bias internalization). Study findings paint a complex picture, including some psychosocial factors (e.g. weight bias internalization) that are related to both more frequent negative and positive weight communication. Notably, higher levels of associative stigma were related to more frequent negative parental weight comments, and less frequent positive weight socialization. Findings can inform healthcare professionals in raising parents' awareness about how their personal beliefs and feelings about their own weight and their child's weight can contribute to how they engage in communication about weight with their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Limited research incorporates an intersectional approach when evaluating disordered eating behaviors among those holding minoritized social positions, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, and/or transgender/gender diverse (LGBTQ) adolescents. The current study assessed stigma experiences from peers at school, self‐esteem, LGBTQ pride, and overlapping social positions as they relate to disordered eating behaviors among LGBTQ adolescents. Method: Participants included 11,083 adolescents (Mage = 15.6, SD = 1.3; 34.8% transgender/gender diverse) from a large national survey study of LGBTQ adolescents from 2017. Exhaustive Chi‐square Automatic Interaction Detection analysis was used to identify bias‐based bullying experiences (i.e., weight‐based, identity‐based), self‐esteem, LGBTQ pride, and overlapping social positions (i.e., gender identity, sexual identity, race/ethnicity, body mass index (BMI) percentile) associated with the highest prevalence of unhealthy weight control behaviors, extreme unhealthy weight control behaviors, and past year binge eating. Results: Adolescents in the 28 identified groups with a high prevalence of disordered eating behavior held at least one structurally marginalized social position (e.g., high BMI), bias‐based bullying experience, low self‐esteem, or low LGBTQ pride in addition to being LGBTQ. Weight‐based bullying was a salient risk‐factor for disordered eating across social positions. Among adolescents with the same social positions, levels of self‐esteem, LGBTQ pride, but no bias‐based bullying experience, prevalence estimates of disordered eating were, on average, 23% lower. Discussion: LGBTQ adolescents with multiple marginalized social positions and related factors engage in disproportionately high prevalence disordered eating. Findings underscore the importance of addressing intersecting experiences of stigma to reduce disordered eating and promote health equity among adolescents. Public significance: Multiply marginalized LGBTQ adolescents, most of whom also reported experiencing bias‐based bullying from peers at school, reported disproportionately high prevalence disordered eating. In comparison groups of adolescents with no bias‐based bullying experience, prevalence of disordered eating was, on average, 24% lower. Findings underscore the importance of addressing intersecting experiences of stigma to reduce disordered eating and promote health equity among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental communication about body weight can influence children's emotional well-being and eating behaviors. However, little is known about the role of parental self-stigma concerning weight and social position variables (ie, race/ethnicity, income, and gender) in weight communication. This study examined how parents' self-stigmatization for their own weight (ie, weight bias internalization) and self-stigmatization for their child's weight (ie, affiliate stigma) relates to weight talk frequency with their children, and whether these associations vary across parental race/ethnicity, income, and gender. Parents Crt = 408) completed a cross-sectional, online survey about their weight communication and self-stigmatization. Linear regression was used to examine the relationships among these variables, including interactions between the stigma variables and social position variables in predicting weight talk. Higher levels of weight bias internalization and affiliate stigma were strongly associated with increased parental weight talk frequency; parents who endorsed higher levels of internalized bias about their own weight expressed greater affiliate stigma for their child's weight, regardless of demographic characteristics or weight status. Associations between the stigma variables and weight talk outcomes were stronger among fathers and parents of higher income. Findings highlight the importance of considering weight stigma variables in parental weight communication research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Body weight is a common reason youth face stigma, yet it has received little attention from athletic coaches working closely with youth of diverse sizes. The present study assessed weight bias in middle and high school athletic coaches (N = 320) via a survey of demographic characteristics and explicit weight bias (Fat Phobia Scale-Short Form). Results indicate moderate levels of bias (M = 3.44, SD = 0.42), with mean scores slightly lower compared to general community samples, yet higher than other specialized groups, and not varying based on the gender of the coach, the gender of the athletes coached, or the type of sport. Psychometric properties of the Fat Phobia Scale-Short Form were assessed through confirmatory factor analysis, suggesting a one-factor model as too simplistic. Implications for future research on this topic are explored, noting the importance of coaches understanding biases and the implications of bias on coaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Weight-related bullying is prevalent among youth and associated with adverse health consequences, including increased risk for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors, which are risk factors for eating disorders. Although concerns about these problems have stimulated calls for broader intervention efforts in schools, actions thus far have been limited. This study examined educators' perspectives about potential policy actions to address these issues in schools. Methods: Educators (N = 240) completed an online questionnaire assessing their support for 11 potential school-based policy actions to address weight-related bullying and eating disorders. Participants also rated policies according to their feasibility and potential for positive impact. Results: Forty-eight percent of participants observed weight-related bullying in their school and 99% expressed the importance of intervening in such incidents. A large majority (75%-94%) supported 8 of the 11 policies, especially actions requiring school-based health curriculum to include content on eating disorder prevention (94%), and addressing weight-bullying through antibullying policies (92%), staff training (89%), and school curriculum (89%). Strongly supported policies were viewed by participants as being the most impactful and feasible to implement. Conclusions: Educators recognize weight-related bullying and eating disorders as problems in their schools that warrant improved prevention and intervention efforts at the policy level.